Hey guys, I have been looking for a SS project bike. I cracked the frame on my Avanti Giro, bought another bike & have a lot of bits hanging around. I have no SS in the shed, not sure I will want one but decided to give it a bash. Instead of outlaying on a frame I have been hunting around for a freebie.

So I get a call from a mate & he has found one at his local tip. No dramas, I get it home today & its pretty straight. Coolio.

BUT, I cant work out what brand it is. It is steel and brazed with pretty good quality fittings and it has this badge on the stem:

Bennett of some description. Most of the Bennetts you see around the place were just low end 10 speeds, I don't know a lot about them but i'm sure there will be other people who will be able to provide more info.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Hehe, Ive been waiting for a bennett to appear..I have a couple sebring mk2's , which where made from 79-85 , the last year of the sebrings had superbe components and some had ARX, but the majority had shimano arabesque 600 groupsets, I also have a pretty rare 85 bennett aero mirage, which was top of the list..I also bought a mint brown 82 supersports for the heck of it....Im also eyeing off a mid 70s long frame bennett dragster.In their era they where the Valiants of their time, couldnt kill em..Looking at yours Id say its a 70s frame, the badge changed in the early 80s. I doubt its a sebring as they where mainly made in a dark blue..

'Hi, My name is Barry...........and I am now a single speed.........now I know that this is a big change and may not be socially acceptable but my Dad accepts the fact that I no longer have gears and is a peace with it. Now that I have come out........I am hoping I can live my life peacefully cruising the paths of Canberra without judgment from people..........'

'I do have one problem though.........my old Dad crashed me once and I have a slight bend in the frame........my new Dad wont give me new clothes until he finds out if I ride OK so until we get that sorted I am a RAT SS! YEAH!!!!!!'

Well Barry rides,.....& rides OK. He doesnt look any better but he is finished and riding. I managed to convert the BB to a square drive which opened up a whole lot of freebie options. I converted the old RX100 cranks to SS by using the small ring off my Truvativ from my Masi and cutting spacers for the bolts from the outer ring.

Brakes were an issue so I ended up just buying a set from Vintate Bicycle Parts in Victoria, Scott there was really helpful. So, he has cost me 60 bucks all up and doesnt get the wobbles up at 40km/h. He does feel a bit funny in the front. now to do a few miles to see if I like the SS thing........

Bodgey crank & no brakes

We now have brakes (almost, no cables):

TADAAAAAAA!!

Now dont critique me too hard on things like cable routing and quality of fittings, this is only an experiment. The next one will be much better (practice for rebuilding the Raliegh). It has been fun learning about what will go with what and finding out the cheats. Barry and I will definately do a few KM's together. Apart from the funny feeling al the seat height is too low.....he goes alright. Hopefully my knees will go alright with the SS........